Lee Valley travelled to Peterborough to face an Islanders team who had gone unbeaten all season and could seal the league winners’ title with a win on the day.

Lions arrived short benched and were hit when three players couldn’t make it to the game due to problems on their travels. The 8 players who did make it were Nick Alley, Lee Hounslow, Simon Jones, Robin Young, Ollie Glover, Ben Duffy, James Andrew and coming back to help the team at short notice from university was Matt Eggen.

1st Period: With fresh legs, Lee Valley managed to get a couple of chances on goal and kept Peterborough’s chances to a minimum but soon the Islanders had the lead when scrappy play in the Lions’ zone allowed Sam Barlow (6:07, unassisted) before Connor Stokes (7:12, assists Sansby, Wallis) quickly added a second. Despite the early setback the visitors knuckled down and kept the full strength Islanders at bay, whilst going close on the few occasions. However, Peterborough added two more before the break, first James Pentecost (15:24, assists Herring, McDonald) tripled their lead before Kenny Bavin (16:39, assist Brammall) finished the period’s scoring.

2nd Period: After a much needed breather the Lions were under the kosh again from the hosts but James Andrew was doing well to stifle any rebounds as the held off a Powerplay in the process. Eventually though the Lions’ resistance was broken after Robin Young was called for Hooking, Connor Stokes (PP goal 29:19, assist Lane) adding the Islander’s fifth before Young was penalised again for Interference and Kenny Bavin (PP goal 30:41, assists Herring, Yardley) was on hand score again. Lions were finally rewarded for their efforts when Lee Hounslow (33:17, assists Duffy, Glover) score a slick finish for his first goal in a Lions’ shirt. Peterborough put the result beyond doubt when first Clint Herring (37:50, assists Pentecost, Long) then Nathan Pollard (38:42, assists Wallis, Yardley) scored to close the period at 8-1 to the champions elect.

3rd Period: Despite the exhaustive effort of playing with such a short bench, Lee Valley were determined in their efforts to keep the game respectable and continued to plug away in defence, they also created a couple of chances but saw their efforts go wide or saved by Dan Lane. Peterborough maintained their dominance, controlling possession and keeping the Lions pinned in their own zone, making it difficult for the visitors to get much needed line changes. It was Lee Valley however who scored first when Lee Hounslow’s (49:28, assist Young) long range shot was deflected through Lane’s legs. To the surprise of the home crowd, it was the Lions who got the next goal when Ollie Glover intercepted a pass across the zone, and found the energy to race up ice and set up Ben Duffy (54:01, assist Glover) on the break. George Alley then called a timeout to give his players a well earned breather before they closed out the period without conceding, leaving the Islanders to celebrate winning the league title with five games to spare.

Game Stats

Final Score: Peterborough Islanders 8-3 Lee Valley Lions (Peterborough are crowned NIHL 2 South East Champions)

Period Scores: 4-0/4-1/0-2
Shots: Peterborough 67-19 (21-7/25-7/21-5)
Penalties in Minutes: Peterborough 8-8 Lee Valley
Scorers: Lee Valley – Lee Hounslow (2+0), Ben Duffy (1+1), Oliver Glover (0+2), Robin Young (0+1)
Peterborough – Clint Herring (1+2), Connor Stokes & Kenny Bavin (2+0), James Pentecost (1+1), Craig Wallis & Shaun Yardley (0+2) Nathan Pollard & Sam Barlow (1+0), Jack Sansby, Rob McDonald, Nathan Long, Dan Lane & Jon Brammall (0+1)
Goaltenders: Lee Valley – James Andrew 67 shots/8goals 88.06%
Peterborough – Dan Lane 19 shots/3 goals 84.21%

Although the league has now been decided, the Lions and Peterborough will reacquaint themselves immediately with a double header this weekend. First, the Lions travel up the A1 this Saturday (11/03) before the return game at Lee Valley Ice Centre on Sunday, our last home game of the season.

Face off in Peterborough on Saturday is at 5:00pm.

The return game at Lea Bridge Road starts at 5:30pm on Sunday.

Ticket and travel information can be found in the Game Day section of our website.

You can follow the Lions on Facebook & Twitter with #LeeValleyLions for up to date news and live scores.